The Fusion of the Worlds
by Search4Truth
Summary: What happens when your connection to the Matrix doesn't work properly? You know the truth... but can't do anything about it. Finished - contains spoilers for all films
1. My Visions

Sadly I don't own any of The Matrix or any of the characters blah blah blah. I wish I did because they're the coolest. I've tried to use as few of the characters as possible but its ended up with more and more working their way in. It started as just my character though she fits in with another so well but you'll have to read to see what I mean. I've put the agents in because I love them. I love all the characters! I'd have everyone in if I could but you know how it is. Okay rambling now but I hope you enjoy my story. Please review, much appreciated. Thank you.  
  
I lie there, on my bed, examining the white ceiling with my eyes. It is so bright that for most people it would burn your eyes, but it doesn't affect me so badly. Why? I'm not sure why. People have described colours to me; I've been shown them in tests. I understand colours, it's just they don't appear the same to me as they do other people. If you were to ask what colour the ceiling was to me, I would tell you pink. Well orangey-pink. I know its white, but try as I might I can't see white. It is as though a screen has been pulled over my eyes, as though I'm looking through a filter. Everything has that strange hue. That skin colour. Do you know what it really reminds me of? People. It looks how you would imagine a liquidised body. I laugh out loud at the thought. Shrill manic laughter, which I am instantly told to stop. I can't make any kind of noise these days without being sedated. Mental homes are all the same. I'm not mad - I know I'm not, but I can't convince the staff. I have visions, as well as the strange hue. The colours are normally pink, but in the dark I can see blinding blue flashes that light up the sky - even though I am indoors. The blue catches the dark metal that isn't there. The metal that is attached to my body. Everybody has this metal, but they can't see it. I can't see it clearly; there is no definition to it. It looks like two photographs taken on the same piece of film, one on top of the other, one with the metal and one without. It scares me.  
  
The scariest thing isn't the colour though. They're my visions. Cold rooms made of steel, hard and unforgiving. Beings sweeping down upon me, emotionless, with the appearance of insects or octopuses. Beings taking me to these rooms and laying me on my front. I can see and hear and feel everything that goes on around me and they know I can, but I cannot move or wake myself from this nightmare. They adjust the metal in me. I don't know why, but every time I've had a vision the hues seem different, sometimes better sometimes worse. They speak to each other, not in English but I still understand it, I've heard it every moment of my life. I can't speak it but I understand it. They talk about signals, programs, problems, malfunctions, adjustments, experiments, pods, but the strangest words are something I've never heard of. The Matrix. I have no idea what it is, but I want to find out. There is something wrong with me, or rather, the world that I live in. The answer to my puzzle lies with the meaning of those words. I'm so confused and so alone. No one believes me. Well there is an exception to that statement, I suppose. The men. They don't have any metal in them. They stand out so much when they come. They contrast the clean white with their black suits; yet match perfectly the cruel precision of the place.  
  
They scare me too. 


	2. The Men in Black Suits

These men are strange. They must have something to do with what I can see. They are my only visitors. I sit one side of the glass and pick up the phone. They do the same on the other.  
  
"My name is Smith," says the central man. "This is Jones," he indicates the man on his left, "and this is Brown." He nods at the man on his right. I try to smile weakly at them, but they just placidly look back. It gets very unnerving after a while. I recognise Smith from somewhere.  
  
"We are Agents. We have come for your protection and the protection of others. We understand that you have been having strange visions."  
  
His manner doesn't change. His voice is a monotone. There is no emotion or feeling to him. There is no metal in him either.  
  
"The visions aren't my fault." I say, before I can stop myself. "I don't want to have them. They scare me. They seem so real. They can't be real. Tell me they're not real."  
  
The men exchange glances.  
  
"What do you mean you have come for my protection? I don't need protecting. I just need a decent night's sleep." I continue. "What do you want from me? Why me? Everyone in this place has visions. Why have you picked on me?"  
  
"We have picked on you - Miss Fairfax - because what you see is different. You know that it is different. You can feel it. You are not fooled, and that is entirely our fault. A mistake, an error. You have heard that computers do not make mistakes. Evidently we do."  
  
This is a dream. This has to be a dream  
  
"No this is not a dream Miss Fairfax and you know it."  
  
Did I say that out loud?  
  
"No you did not say that out loud. Humans are so easy to understand. I can follow your train of thought easier than if you had a glass head."  
  
Okay this is really scaring me now. I press the little red button to call for the nurse. Smith just smiles. A sardonic, empty, ironic smile.  
  
"The nurse will not come. We have dealt with her. You have nothing to fear from us. We want to stop these visions."  
  
He stands up and with a thrill of terror I see he has a gun by his side. He raises it and points it at the glass. I drop the phone and dive to the ground. The bullet seems to take an eternity to hit the glass. I raise my head in slow motion and see the bullet ricochet back off the surface and straight at Smith.  
  
He dodged it.  
  
He dodged a goddamn bullet! A bullet! Oh my god what the hell has happened to me? I really am seeing things now! I. I. I.  
  
I let out a scream as he releases a wave of bullets onto the glass, eventually shattering it. They jump up onto the desk, step through the broken pane and pull me up from the ground.  
  
"You don't need to scream." Smith said. "We want to sort out this malfunction. Your connection to The Matrix is faulty."  
  
Those words again. What the hell are they talking about? What is the Matrix?  
  
"You don't need to know what the Matrix is. You have lived without that knowledge for 28 years. You can continue that way for the rest of your life."  
  
How do they know what I am thinking? How the hell do they do that?  
  
"We do not know why the connection is faulty. Try to relax your muscle tissues, it will be less painful."  
  
He pulls out a small metallic box and removes what looks like a tiny silver spider. He presses a button and it begins to wriggle and squirm in his fingertips. As it breaks free of its slimy cocoon, Jones and Brown pull up my jumper. What the hell are they going to do to me? Images flash through my mind. Beating? Abuse? Rape? Murder? Smith advances towards me, lowering the shrimp-like probe towards my stomach. I writhe in terror and agony on the floor, held down by the strong, unforgiving, unrelenting hands. As the probe is released on my abdomen, in crawls towards my navel and proceeds to bury it's way into me. I feel so helpless.  
  
Suddenly I'm not in the white room. I'm in a room full of metal instruments, being laid down by a huge squid like thing. The metal is being removed. New metal placed in me. My vision is clearer than ever before  
  
A face looms down at me, and I realise I'm back in the hospital. Smith smiles again.  
  
I awake with a scream, and nurse rushes in with more injections to calm me. As she administers the drug I let out a small sob. I understand. I know my dreams and reality have merged into one, but I don't know which is which. One thing I do know however is that the answer lies within The Matrix. I also remember. I remember a time when I was a small girl. I had a dream then. It was about a man. I battle with my brain to remember. It was in a subway. A man fought with another man. That's when it hits me. I recognise Smith from my dream. He was beaten by the other man. Suddenly the last part clicks into place. The victor gave me a message.  
  
"You are different. You may not know it yet, but you will understand one day. I will come for you. You will see this man. Do not trust him. Trust me. I will show you truth. Remember my name."  
  
I do remember his name. His name was Neo. 


	3. Second Visit

Life continued as it had always done for some time after that. No one knew about my dream of the men. (Was it a dream? I remember waking up from it but everything seems to be a dream for me.) When I lay on my bed in the dark, watching those eerie blue flashes that I know are just in my mind, I could feel something. Sort of like when I used to get butterflies in my stomach, but slower and more purposeful. I placed a hand on my stomach. I swear I felt movement, like when a baby turns over inside its mother. I'm not pregnant though, I split up with my last boyfriend three years ago. I've had no contact with any potential partners since coming into this place. I doubt I ever will again. I can't help thinking that it could have something to do with that thing the men in my dream had.  
  
Don't be ridiculous! It was a dream you silly woman, a dream! I've always protested my sanity, but I fear I may well be going mad. This place gets to you.  
  
Suddenly an image bursts into my mind. A man named Neo walking down a subway towards me.  
  
"I once said you were different to other people. I told you that you would meet Smith. Don't trust him, you are on the path to the truth. He will say that he wants to help you. He doesn't want to help you; he will cure you then throw you back where you are now. People don't know the truth; they are too dependent on the Matrix. You will have your chance to escape. Take it and we will meet, fate has deemed it so. The answers are out there."  
  
The image disappears.  
  
Just then a nurse walks in.  
  
"How are you doing dear?" she asks with false sympathy. The staff treat us like we're simple. "Listen, you eat this up and then we'll take you to the visiting room. You're very lucky Rebecca, there's three nice men come to speak to you. Won't that be a lovely treat?"  
  
My blood runs cold.  
  
"I'm not going." I stammer. "I don't want to speak to them. I don't want to speak to anybody. Leave me alone!"  
  
"It's okay dear, calm down! I've had a word with them, they're very nice. Say they've figured out a way to mend your vision. I don't know how of course, our doctors can't do anything, but if they can cure you then you'll be able to go home! Won't that be super?"  
  
I think for a while. Maybe I'm just overreacting. They might just be a coincidence. Anyway, if they can cure me, I won't need to worry about things like this ever again. The nurse is right; I will be able to go home!  
  
I nod silently and turn to my breakfast. Porridge. Again. Great. Still, better than nothing I suppose. I dress quickly and the nurse takes me to the visiting rooms. I take a deep breath and walk in.  
  
I feel winded, terrified, shocked, stunned, I'm in disbelief. It was supposed to be a dream. They weren't supposed to be real. I don't know whether to laugh, cry or scream. I'm rooted to the spot. The nurse closes the door behind me with a sinister clang. I just stand and stare at my visitors.  
  
Smith gestures to the phone.  
  
I walk across the room and pick it up with a trembling hand. I place it to my ear, feeling sicker by the second. I hear a crackly version of his drawl on the other end.  
  
"You look surprised to see us, Miss Fairfax. I can understand what you must be feeling," he says, which is ironic coming from a group of men who appear to have the emotional range of a teaspoon.  
  
"We are going to shoot the glass again. Get down"  
  
I can't dive quickly enough. A few shots later the glass crumbles and the men turn me over onto my back. One of them (Brown as I remember) produces a strange contraption out of a black bag. He clamps it over my navel and proceeds to remove the probe.  
  
"I thought that wasn't real." I gasp.  
  
"It isn't real," says Brown. "However it has monitored you so we can sort out your little problem."  
  
"I have here," says Jones "a pill. Take it quickly and we will sort you out."  
  
I eye the little red pill carefully.  
  
"What does it do?"  
  
"It is part of a program that alters your electronic signals," says Smith. "Once you take it, we will be able to trace your signal and fix your connection."  
  
I take the pill. Another image flashes into my mind, Neo again.  
  
"You will know when your chance for escape arrives. You will be able to feel it. Follow that instinct and you will be free to find the truth."  
  
This is my chance to escape. I know it.  
  
The Agents wire me back up to the contraption. They put little pads all over me, lie me back down on the floor and Brown starts tapping at a laptop.  
  
"You will begin to feel quite sick in a minute." Says Smith. "Don't worry that's completely normal. You will fall unconscious. Don't worry about this either. I can't say what you will experience then. You may not remember anything or you may have strange dreams. Just remember, these dreams are just dreams, this is the real world, this is where you belong."  
  
Liar. You liar. I can't tell you why I know he's lying; I just know he is. I believe in Neo. It's okay Rebecca, hang in there. Don't let them know you've rumbled them. This is your chance. Don't blow it. God, I can see what he means about feeling sick.  
  
I look at the pink-tinged ceiling, white to regular eyes, and black out. 


	4. My Awakening

What the -? Where the hell am I? I try to open my eyes but can't as they're full of the contents of my pod. I sit up, and wiping the goo off my face; pull off a mask. As I start coughing to clear my throat of the strange jelly I have a terrible shock. I can see the metal.  
  
Strange thick cold wires leading into the wall to which my seat is attached. I'm sitting in a little pod, surrounded by an orangey-pink slime, which I realise with a shock is the cause of the discolouration of my vision. The last piece of the jigsaw clicks into place. The Matrix is whatever world I have just come from, and this is another one. I've been lying in that pod all my life, my eyes open, staring up out of that goo, seeing that other world through it. I'm not supposed to see that colour, and that's why my connection is faulty. I understand!  
  
As I check all over my body where I've seen the metal in the past, I have strange holes. The wires are attached to these plugs. I feel so cold where they are, as if I'm being drained of my energy. I'm so scared; I have no idea what is wanted of me. I look around. There are two towers in front of me; all covered in little pods the same colour as mine. I look left, and I see a row of pods stretching away around my tower, and I see the same again as I look right. Every single one has a person in it, all of different ages. As I look the old man in the pod to my left is unplugged by a spidery machine, and his body and the goo around him is drained away down a pipe in the tower. Another machine appears and places a baby in his place. More slime is pumped in until it cocoons around the child. I feel so sickened, staring at its naked form, full of unnatural wires, living an untrue life.  
  
I brought back to my senses by the machine that brought the baby. It spots me sitting up, quietly observing everything that is going on. It scuttles over, and grabbing my neck, twists the wire attached to the back of my head. I cant breathe, it's claws are suffocating me. It's cold jaws clamp tighter and tighter as it works. The pain is unbearable. As I struggle with it to stay alive an image bursts into my mind.  
  
"Follow that instinct and you will be free to find the truth."  
  
I fall still, captivated by my vision, and the machine releases me. As I touch the back of my head I realise the wire has been removed. Almost instantly all the other wires in my body come loose and fall off. In one movement I launch myself forwards out of my pod.  
  
I fall for what feels like an eternity, I have no idea where I will land.  
  
With a surprise I crash into a pool full of slimy water and slowly begin to drown. I can't think properly, I don't have a clue what to do. My reptilian brain takes over. Sink or swim. Well I'll take swim. I've not come this far to die now. The struggle to reach dry land drains me of the last of my energy and I fall unconscious again. 


	5. Journey through the Fields

As I awake I realise I've been moved. I'm lying on something very soft. As I look about me I realise with horror just where I am. There is an arm lying next to me. A dead arm. As I look to see where the owner is I feel so sick. It's the old man who was in my neighbouring pod. This is where the machines put the dead. The machines moved me, thinking I must have died after the fall, ready for my body to be destroyed. I sit up and turn around, trying no to disturb the bodies out of respect for the dead. There is a machine picking up the bodies and placing them in a tray. There is a strange whirring sound and I see the tray being drained. Through the transparent tube leading away from it I see the product of the exercise and am stunned by what I see. The goo in my pod was a body. A dead body. They have been feeding us on the dead. I cannot describe how I feel. It is beyond words, beyond imagining. I want to cry. I want to give up and stop fighting. I want to die so I can be free of this agony, but something won't let me. I have to keep going. I have to know. I want to know what's happened to me.  
  
I crawl off the pile of bodies and scramble away from the pile, terrified that the machines might realise I'm alive and plug me back in. Once I am out of sight I stand up and stumble along a rough path. I keep walking. I have no idea where I'm going; I just want to get away from these towers. I don't feel very hungry, I'm in shock, but I am starting to get thirsty. I spot a small stream running nearby. The water is murky, covered in a strange scum and has a very funny smell. I decide that as thirsty as I am I can make better progress dehydrated than ill. I leave the path, and start following the stream. I reckon I'm less likely to be found.  
  
A few hours later (I have no idea of just how long) I spot a pool. The water looks slightly better here, and there is another stream that joins it. The water coming that way is very clean, so I wade across and have a drink. It feels wonderful after the grime of those towers, and the dead flesh. I decide to follow that stream, thinking it would be nice to have clean water nearby.  
  
I keep going that way for a few days, but I can't be sure how long as there is no sunrise or sunset. It is perpetual nighttime here. It's very creepy. By now I am beyond hungry, I will eat anything. The thing is though I can't steal food out of rubbish, as machines don't need to eat. I did mange to find a dead rat, but it was so rotten that little meat remained. It did me no help at all. I am ashamed to say that I have managed to find a good meal though. I was walking along next to the stream when I noticed many tall pillars spanning as far as the eye could see all around me. I looked up and with a jolt realised what they were. The machines were growing humans! They looked like huge bean stalks with babies instead of seeds. By this time I had seen so much that I just accepted it. I didn't feel anything for the babies; they would never know the truth. As I walked something came crashing down in front of me. When I realised what it was I knew what I had to do. A stillborn baby boy was lying in the path, having just fallen from the metal plants. Don't judge me for my actions; you would have done the same. It was my only sustaining meal of my whole travels. That dead baby enabled me to survive. You have to understand. It was the hardest thing in the world, but I'm glad I did it.  
  
My adventures came to an end when I had passed the growing fields. I was on the outskirts of the machine activity when I tripped and fell onto a rock. I don't know whether I just gave up and fell asleep or was knocked unconscious, but I blacked out for the final time before I met him. 


	6. Safety

I sleepily open my eyes, only to be blinded by a dazzling white light. I can hear voices around me. Two men and a woman. I groan as I regain consciousness more and more. I can hear snatches of a hushed conversation.  
  
"Such a long way from the towers."  
  
"I know - it's nearly impossible to get that far out of Zero-One without being spotted."  
  
"She must very lucky."  
  
"Never mind lucky - more hungry. Look how thin she is."  
  
I move my head slightly. The movement draws the attention of the people. I feel a hand on mine. I turn my head towards the pressure and opening my eyes again I see that it is the woman.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I-. I'm not sure." I croak. "Where am I?"  
  
"You're on board the Nebuchandezzer. It's my ship." Says one of the men. "I know you must have many questions and you definitely deserve them answering. You seem to have been through a lot. However now is not the time. You need to rest. We're going to start re-building your muscles and get you back to health. Then we can talk for as long as you like."  
  
"Come on Morpheus, leave her be. Tank knows what he's doing." says the woman.  
  
"You're right Trinity." Replies Morpheus. "I should go and check on Neo. See how he's coping."  
  
It takes a few seconds for me to realise what he's just said.  
  
"Hang on - did you just mention someone called Neo?"  
  
"Yes why?"  
  
"I need to speak to him!! I cry, and try to sit up. "You don't understand I've dreamt about him for the past days. He said that we would meet and he would show me the truth." All the tiniest details of my dreams pour out of me, through sheer relief of knowing that my escape plan worked. "You don't get it. This Neo is all that's been keeping me going."  
  
I see a frown crease Trinity's brow. What have I done?  
  
"We will let you see him when you are strong enough. He has just been awoken too. I imagine you will both have many questions. Rest for now." Says Morpheus, gently but finally.  
  
I know its no use arguing with him. Any way, I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I can just make out Trinity and Morpheus leaving the room and Tank coming to check me over before I drift back off to sleep. 


	7. Life on the Neb

I awake again in a small cabin. The bed I'm lying on is so warm and soft that I feel like I'm in heaven after that little pod. I yawn a little and go to stand up but I can't. I look down at my arm and I see a drip plugged into the socket there. I quickly take it out. I cross the small space in two strides and pull open the door.  
  
I step out into a small corridor brightly lit by fluorescent strips. I'm wearing some loose leggings and a worn jumper, which has to be said, is not very flattering but surprisingly comfortable. As I begin to wander about the ship I can't help thinking about the past. About all I've been through. Suddenly I stumble into a wider area. There are seven chairs in a large circle, all wired up to huge computers. An eighth chair is beyond them, facing away from the circle, but this chair has an occupant. I think it's a woman, but I can't be sure because the clothes give very few clues. They have white hair and they're staring at three monitors, all with a strange green code falling down them like rain. I'm in two minds whether to approach them or not, but before I can decide they spin round on their chair. It is a woman, and I've just scared her out of her wits.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" she demands, evidently upset at being caught off- guard.  
  
"My name's Rebecca Fairfax." I answer. "Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Switch. Sorry for shouting, I just don't like being surprised."  
  
She gets up off her chair and pours herself a drink. This I guess is why she span round in the first place.  
  
"So," she continues, "how you doing Rebecca?"  
  
God, it seems like a lifetime since I heard that.  
  
"I'm ok. A little confused, but I'll be all right. What are you doing?"  
  
"Oh, I'm monitoring the Matrix. You know, checking up on people, watching for danger etc."  
  
"Sounds fun" I comment sarcastically.  
  
"Oh very. Not. Rather be in there to monitor than out here. I've never been one for sitting around."  
  
I like Switch, there's something about her that reminds myself of me. Like we'd both just keep going, no matter what.  
  
"So how are you doing ladies?"  
  
We both whip around, to see Morpheus emerging from the corridor.  
  
"So. I've just realised I don't know your name." Says Morpheus, laughing.  
  
"My name's Rebecca."  
  
"So Rebecca. I have to say that you were in a terrible state when we found you. Do you think you can tell me what happened? You don't have to, we can wait until you feel better."  
  
"No I'll tell you now. I think it might help to talk about it."  
  
So I began telling my story. I told of my encounters with the Agents in the Matrix, how I had been put in a mental home, how I was awoken and escaped, and of my journey away from Zero-One. I only know that name because Morpheus talked about it in the hospital ward. When I had finished most of the crew were up and about. Some stayed and listened while others were too busy. I was beginning to like life on the Neb. Morpheus began to explain to me what the Matrix was and why but he was shocked to find I already knew. After all, why shouldn't I? I've just spent the last few days secretly living alongside the machines. Trinity brought my breakfast to me while I was having my talk with Morpheus. Switch took the opportunity to say goodnight as she was being relieved by Tank. Everything seemed so normal, except that this was my adventure of a lifetime.  
  
Once I had had my breakfast Morpheus introduced me to the rest of the crew. Dozer was a tall man who was Tank's brother, Apoc stood behind Morpheus, tapping at a computer rigged up to a chair. Cypher is a smallish man with a goatee, and Mouse is the youngest. He seems very quiet. There's only one person I have yet to speak to, but he's the one I most want to meet.  
  
Thankfully I didn't have to wait long. They were taking the ship up to Broadcast level when Neo appeared.  
  
"Neo!" I squealed when I saw him. "Neo you were right! I would find the truth! I took my chance and now I've met you, just like you said!"  
  
"You must be Rebecca," he said. "Well I'm very pleased to meet you but I have to say I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about. When did I say we would meet?"  
  
"You mean you don't remember? You came to me in a dream when I was little. You said that I was different and that I would find out the truth one day. You were in a subway station, and you'd just fought a man in a suit."  
  
He was an Agent I add silently.  
  
"I'm really sorry Rebecca but I still don't understand. I've never fought anyone in a subway, and the only contact I've ever had with someone in a suit was an Agent in a training program. I'm only going back into the Matrix for the first time today, to see the Oracle. Sorry" Neo says. 


	8. Transfer to the Gnosis

Well to say I was disappointed is an understatement. After all I'd been through Neo didn't even know I existed. We had a nice little chat but he still doesn't have a clue about my dreams. He was awoken about ten days ago. He's never fought an Agent, except for in a training program. I might as well have stayed in the goddamn Matrix, for all the difference it's made. I went through all that to meet a man who cared about me so much he would visit me in a dream, or at least that's what I thought. I don't know what to do. Where do I go from here? Evidently there is no more room on the Neb for me, that's why Morpheus has arranged a meeting with another ship, the Gnosis. I'm going to transfer onto there and go back to Zion, the city of the humans.  
  
As Morpheus brings the ship up to Broadcast level I say my goodbyes. I've only been here five days, and sleeping for four of them, but the crew feel like my family. They're the only humans I've known in the real world. Everyone except Tank and Dozer are preparing to go into the Matrix, they want to speak to someone called the Oracle. Sounds dodgy to me, but Morpheus believes in her wholeheartedly.  
  
So I leave the Neb, and begin the final part of my journey to Zion.  
  
The Gnosis is slightly smaller than the Neb. They're both hovercrafts, and they patrol the area around Zion. The Gnosis was due to return to Zion anyway, whereas the Neb was going to continue hacking into the Matrix. After speaking to the captain, Jacob, he tells me that Neo is part of a prophecy to bring an end to the war between machines and humans, and that he will destroy the Matrix. I reckon that my dreams were just my mind telling me to get out. Like I sensed that I would have a chance to escape and my mind tricked me into taking it. I don't really know. I'm so confused. And lonely. And sad. I don't really know why I've been affected so badly. I'm just looking forward to seeing Zion. From what Jacob tells me, there are huge halls underground, where there are parties that shake the Earth. People live in little cabins. I'm very excited about one thing, though. Dozer gave me a note with the Cabin number of his wife on. Apparently if I tell her that he sent me she'll look after me until I get a place of my own. I'm so excited! I can't wait to meet Cas. 


	9. New Family

I take it all back. I am home. Zion is where I'm meant to be. I love Cas. Life with her is so fun. I stepped of the Gnosis to be greeted by hundreds of people I didn't know. Jacob's family were there, as were the rest of the crews'. I looked around the crowded dock to find a face that wanted me, but I couldn't find anyone who seemed interested in me. News of me and of my escape had made its way back to Zion already, so by now it was old news. I didn't want to trouble Jacob again, but he took me to Cas' cabin. Number 359. As I knocked on the door two young children, fighting over each other to get to me first, greeted me.  
  
"Daddy! Uncle Tank!" They shouted, but as soon as the door was opened they stopped in their tracks.  
  
"Who are you?" The boy asked bluntly, in that rude but sweet way kids have.  
  
"My name's Rebecca, I've just come back off the Neb. I assume that's where your daddy and uncle are?"  
  
"Yeah, they're the greatest!"  
  
"I miss daddy," whispered the girl, "I thought you was him."  
  
"Oh I'm really sorry, but when I spoke to him he told me to send his love. You're very lucky to have him for a Daddy. He cares about you a lot." Of course Dozer had never said anything like that, but what else was I supposed to say to them?  
  
"Okay kids, leave our visitor alone! Who is it?" A voice called from inside the cabin.  
  
"Erm, my name's Rebecca." I called back. "I'm looking for Cas. Dozer sent me. He said that she might look after me."  
  
"Well come in! I'm Cas, and the kids are Dozer's and mine, as you've probably guessed."  
  
As I step over the threshold I see a pretty woman smiling at me from a small table. Another woman is with her, holding hands with a man.  
  
"Hi, so you must be the girl who was rescued from Zero-One." Says Cas. "I assume that Dozer sent you, he was never one for letting people struggle through. Always wants to help, even if it means volunteering me! This is my sister-in-law, Zee." She gestures to the other woman. "And this is Link, her boyfriend." She gestures to the man.  
  
These people are so kind. They welcome me as though I'm family, and seem genuinely interested in my welfare.  
  
"Well thank you so much for offering me a place to stay. You can't imagine how much it means to me."  
  
"It's absolutely no problem," says Cas "but I tell you what we need to do. We need to give you a new name. You've probably noticed that we have unusual names. Well it started as hacker aliases, but now we all get new names to show that we aren't the people we were in the Matrix, if you get what I mean."  
  
"Oh, thank you! You know, I've been thinking how my name doesn't feel right. Rebecca sort of belongs to another person, who didn't really exist."  
  
"Well I reckon we should call you Majesty, Maggie for short." Suggests Cas. "You have that air of pride around you, despite what you've been through. It would suit you."  
  
So that settles it. My new name is Maggie. I live in Zion, the last free city of people on the Earth. I have never been happier. Also I've worked out what was going on with my vision of Neo. It didn't make any sense at the time, I mean, how could Neo speak to me from the future? Well as it must have been a glitch in the Matrix it must have been made by my mind. I knew subconsciously that the world I could see wasn't real. My mind had hacked into the Matrix, causing disruptions and making me hallucinate. I suppose it might just be coincidence that it was Neo I saw, or maybe its one of those weird sixth sense things. I don't suppose that matters.  
  
I know that because of Link. He's just finished his operator training, so he's a bit of a computer boffin. I told him what I had seen and that's his diagnosis, if you will. I don't really care personally, at the end of the day what I saw got me out and I'm grateful for that, but it never happened so I might as well forget about it.  
  
I'm home. That's all I need to know.  
  
I was at Cas' when the news came through. There has been a tragedy on the Neb. Cypher turned on us. Mouse was shot in the Matrix. The Agents captured Morpheus, and Cypher shot Dozer and Tank. He then unplugged Apoc and Switch. Tank was injured badly. Dozer is dead. The Neb has lost everyone except Neo and Trinity. It is up to them to save Morpheus. Tank is coming home for treatment. We have no idea how to break the news to the children. I am in denial.  
  
Tank didn't make it. Every day the war escalates out of control. Link has left to operate the Neb. There is just the three of us women now, and we are goin to protect each other to the end. We are all we have left for each other. Just Cas, Zee, the kids and myself. 


	10. The End

The war had reached fever pitch. In a last-ditch attempt to defeat Zion once and for all the machines had tunnelled down. In order to defend their city, the Zion defence had called for anyone and everyone to hold the dock, the area where the machines were going to reach the city. Zee and Maggie volunteered, as Link had not returned yet. After the deaths of Tank and Dozer, he had gone to operate on board the Neb, and was due to reach Zion in a few hours.  
  
"I'll make you a deal." Maggie said. "If you keep loading the shells I'll keep firing."  
  
Zee agreed, and with that they went to face their enemy.  
  
Stood high on a ledge, the Sentinels swarmed about below them, an enormous drill working away at the floor of the dock, after falling from the hole in the ceiling. Zee grabbed Maggie's waist as she lowered herself out over the chasm. Firing the shell that Zee had made, Maggie hit the drill, causing it to explode. Their victory smiles only lasted a few seconds, as the shot had not been ignored. As a huge sentinel flew up to destroy the girls, they fled towards the safety hatch, crawling between the huge arms of the machine. Maggie took her last breath as the probe plummeted towards her. 


End file.
